Package of bills in favor of New Jersey vo-tech schools

Sometimes treated like the stepchildren of the public school system, New Jersey’s vocational and technical programs got a political boost yesterday, as the state’s top Democrats announced a package of bills that would loosen the purse strings and ease the rules on career-centered programs.

Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) yesterday said he would introduce eight bills this week that aim to promote vo-tech programs and their missions, some with funding, others with encouragement.

The latter is, of course, easier than the former, and Prieto said he would press to include some money for districts that are sometimes left out of state-funding calculations.